Prince Harry may still consider the UK his home, but he is open to the idea of becoming a US citizen.
The Duke of Sussex, who moved to California in 2020 with wife Meghan Markle after they quit working for the royal family, told “Good Morning America” Friday he “has considered” getting American citizenship.
When asked why he has not done so yet, Harry, 39, responded, “I have no idea. I’m here standing next to these guys,” referencing the preparations that are underway for the 2025 Invictus Games in Canada.
He then added, “The American citizenship is a thought that has crossed my mind but is certainly not something that is a high priority for me right now.”
Harry, who was born in Britain in 1984, was also hesitant to say he “feels” American, explaining, “I don’t know how I feel.”
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However, the “Spare” author said he is certainly grateful for his life on the West Coast, adding, “It’s amazing. I love every single day.”
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Harry’s path toward American citizenship may not be an easy one, though, as his admitted recreational drug use may stop him from even getting a US visa.
The prince wrote in his bestselling memoir that he has “drank heavily,” used cocaine and smoked pot throughout his life.
Former federal prosecutor Neama Rahmani previously told Pvnew exclusively, “An admission of drug use is usually grounds for inadmissibility.
“That means Prince Harry’s visa should have been denied or revoked because he admitted to using cocaine, mushrooms and other drugs.”
However, attorney James Leonard, who represented “Real Housewives of New Jersey” alum Joe Giudice in his immigration case, offered a different point of view at the time.
“Absent any criminal charge related to drugs or alcohol or any finding by a judicial authority that Prince Harry is a habitual drug user, which he clearly is not, I don’t see any issue with the disclosures in his memoir regarding recreational experimentation with drugs,” the NJ-based lawyer previously said.
Another obstacle that Harry may face is that he reportedly may have to give up his royal titles, which he and Markle are seemingly fighting to keep using for their professional and personal benefits.
According to the US Citizenship and Immigration Services, “Any applicant who has any titles of heredity or positions of nobility in any foreign state must renounce the title or the position.
“The applicant must expressly renounce the title in a public ceremony and USCIS must record the renunciation as part of the proceedings.”
Harry and Markle recently went against Queen Elizabeth II’s wishes to no longer use the name Sussex Royal for their personal brands by launching their website Sussex, which promotes their “philanthropic endeavors.”
They also gave their children, Archie, 4, and Lilibet, 2, the Sussex title as their official last names.
Neither Harry nor Meghan have ever been formally stripped of their royal titles since they were gifted to them on their wedding day in 2018, though — but a US citizenship could change that.
Harry’s glowing remarks of his time in the US comes just two months after he claimed during a trial abroad that he was “forced” to leave the UK despite allegations of racial tensions within the royal family and other mental health struggles.
“The UK is my home,” he reportedly said in a statement read in a London court in December 2023 amid his then-legal bid for taxpayer-funded police security.
“The UK is central to the heritage of my children and a place I want them to feel at home as much as where they live at the moment in the US.”
He added at the time, reflecting on “Megxit,” “It was with great sadness for both of us that my wife and I felt forced to step back from this role and leave the country in 2020.”
